Journal of Sacred Work

Living in the Present Moment Days 207-208

Last week we gathered together to celebrate a dear friend’s 82^nd birthday.  She is afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. Although she did not remember her friends, many who she had worked with, they reminisced with her and shared fond memories of good times. She was delighted to listen to the stories which were emerging from the hazy fog of her current state. Yet, there was much laughter and kind sharing from the heart as well as a little singing.

When she opened her presents, she was surprised to discover her pretty new outfits and we read out loud the endearing sentiments expressed in her cards.  This was followed by birthday cake and a lit candle to make a wish. All was a joyful reunion.

And she won’t remember any of this soon after everyone leaves but that does not diminish the blessings of the occasion. She experienced and embraced every moment with pure enjoyment.

An epiphany arose as I realized that my friend lives in the present moment! She has reached a state that all spiritual teaching point towards but is so difficult to achieve. She no longer holds onto the past and not does worry about the future. She is a t peace and enjoys life each day.

My friend loves to sing. During the day listens to music on the big screen TV in the big family room of the B & C and sings spiritual hymns to her hearts content all throughout the day. She knows all the words to all the songs and she has a nice voice. Whenever I pop in to see her, she is so happy to see me but each time she thinks it has been a long time since I visit even though I visit 2-3xs per week.

Right now, she is in a sweet spot of peace and contentment. However, I know that her disease is progressive and she will continue to decline. I have accompanied my friend throughout her Alzheimer’s journey and there have been some really rough patches. I  worry enough for the both of us. But for now, I am extremely grateful to sing along with her.

~Liz Sorensen Wessel

How "The Pink Panther" Changed YOUR Life - Days 202-206

I. The impact of unexpected careers 

   Over 48 years so many have asked, "How did you go fr0m criminal prosecutor to hospital CEO?" The answer is so absurd many disbelieve it. 

   In 1975, my life was a river flowing predictably. Bruce Trumm (aka "Pink Panther") earthquaked that river diverting it into the lives of thousands I would never have encountered and delivering me to hospitals with river names: Riverside Episcopal* and Riverside Methodist. 

   Bruce touches you who read this. Absent him, there is no Journal and absolutely NO chance I would have run three hospital systems, started giant OhioHealth, launched an international T.V. show seen by millions, put out best-selling books, produced four televised healthcare documentaries...

   No one would know of Radical Loving Care, The Mother Test or this writing. There would be no Riverside-based hospice in Columbus or "Thursday's Baby" in Nashville. Baptist Hospital would likely have gone bankrupt.

   II. "Pink Panther?"

   We expect family to shape us, not casual contacts. I knew Bruce vaguely as a fellow church board member.  The polio that crippled him caused him to shuffle and he would sometimes approach unheard. He loved his nickname: "Pink Panther." He ran the Toledo hospital named Riverside (no connection to Riverside Methodist.) I was a federal crimes prosecutor headed back to private practice.

   It took three tries for Bruce to convince me to accept his outlandish offer to help him run Riverside. I knew nothing about healthcare.  

   "Why me?" I asked Pink Panther. "I have zero training. You have hundreds of other choices."

    "After polio slowed me down, I studied people more carefully," he said. "I watched you in board meetings. You're a leader."

   It was the only reason he ever gave.

   Caregivers and leaders change so many lives. Did someone unexpected change yours?

-Erie Chapman

*Shockingly, Google produced NO pictures of Bruce, who died in 1984. After 119 years the hospital, pictured, closed in 2002 (reopened elsewhere as St. Ann's). The building where we worked was demolished in 2018.  

For the Love of Mother Earth Day 2023-204

Prayer of Blessing

May the love of life
fill our hearts.
May the love of earth
bring joy to heaven.
May the love of self
deepen our souls.
May the love of neighbor
heal our world.
As nations, as peoples, as families this day
may the love of life heal our world.

by John Philip Newell

This Blessing is from "Praying with the Earth" - A Prayerbook for Peace, and it is a lovely little book that I am spending time with in contemplative prayer. Wishing you a peace-filled w/e.

Mandala by ~liz

 

  

Don't Squander Summer! Days 195-201

"Don't Squander Summer!"

The above words come to mind, spoken by a wonderful mentor. Another friend say’s, “this will be my best summer ever!, my best Christmas", etc. as it is how she lives her life. Someone who lives with intentionality to experience every day as a gift. Perhaps, this is can be attributed to having dedicated her life work to hospice care. In caring for people who were dying she learned a great deal about living from them.

Life is a both/and as Richard Rohr offers “everything belongs.” The bright summer days and the cold winter nights. We look outside ourselves for acceptance, belonging, love, forgiveness and yet all spiritual paths point to the inward journey.

Ah, but summer beckons to us into this season of blossoming, gentle breezes, and a return to the carefree days of our youth. What stirs within you? Hopefully some fond memories but regardless we have opportunities to create anew.

As Richard reminds us, everything belongs, the pain of loss and the blessings of new life. Whatever comes, rather than resist, avoid, or fight it we can choose another way.  Tara Brach offers this simple but helpful practice of RAIN. When a distressing situation arises,  Recognize the uncomfortable feeling, Allow it to be present, then be curious and Investigate a bit more about what you are feeling, to offer kindness, compassion and Nurturance to what is in need of care and attention, rather than self judgement. In this way we can allow the cloud to pass on through us instead of getting stuck inside, we let it go.

This is one way we can tend our inner garden for our well-being so that we can experience little moments of peace and as little frustrations arise bless rather than curse them. Accept that this too belongs and we can learn from whatever comes our way.

May you experience simple moments to delight your spirit and the gifts to be found in the unexpected challenges that undoubtedly will arise.

Prayer of Awareness

Light
golden light
fresh from the source.

Colours
creation’s colours
calling our senses.

Life in its oneness
 life in all its manifold oneness
 all from You.

 You are the Sun
from whom the morning shines
You are the River in whom each life-form flows
each face
each race
each cell within our ever-living soul.

This new day we greet You.

by John Philip Newell

I hope you enjoy the gifts to be discovered in summer!

Shared by Liz Sorensen Wessel
Artwork by ~liz

 

When Motive Matters Most - Days 190-194

   Sure. Motive matters in criminal cases. But, "motive" has a different relevance here.

   A recent pitched battle in Nashville erupted when Alive Hospice explored selling the beloved, 48-year-old organization to a for-profit company. A huge segment of the community was horrified, launched a campaign ("Keep Alive alive") and a petition that drew 6000 signatures. The board backed away, fired the CEO and retained their non-profit status.

   Why does this matter?   

   Healthcare must focus first on best care, not highest profit. That does not mean for-profits automatically give bad care. Sometimes for-profits outperform non-profits and too many non-profit hospitals are over-focused on money.

   But hospice seems different. Data from a large Rand Corporation study proved that non-profit hospice care is better. Is that because non-profit hospices have kept their motives closer to mission? 

   Yes. The larger issue is motive. Organizations with cultures of loving care attract the best caregivers and give the best care. 

   The board of "Alive" faces a big challenge: To pick a new CEO whose motives align with mission first, not money. To succeed, they must first model their own mission. 

-Erie Chapman

Greater than The Light of One Days 188-189

“Grandma let’s light this birthday candle and see how long it takes to burn” my granddaughter, Starling said to me. “Hmnn, okay, let me find a candle holder.”  I brought out a glass holder and melted a little remnant of wax from the base to anchor the little red poke-a-dot candle. I have to confess, although I was going along with Starling’s request, I held minimal interest in learning the answer.  

Until, I lit the candle and the magic began.  We were both stunned to see a beautiful mandala manifest from light shining through glass and casting this equisite design before our eyes. We sat spell bound watching the flame flicker and I began taking pictures from various vantage points. Starling suggested we turn out the lights and the radiance of light and shadows danced with colors swirling in changing hues. What caught our eye next was an incandescent light reflected in the glass door.  This reminded me of a beacon of light streaming from a lighthouse offering safety in tumultuous times. Yet, all was calm in the surrounding quiet of this enchanted moment as time lay suspended.

The glow of the candle and the surrounding cloak of darkness invited intimacy and a deepening sharing from the heart. Starling began to tell me about a school friend that she was worried about and the reason why. I listened without getting hooked into fixing. Giving voice to her concern was all that was really needed.

To my amazement the candle burned for 40 minutes instead of a mere three minutes that I had anticipated. The sacredness of this experience lingers. As my granddaughter turns 11 years of age and grows independent, it is these moments are as pearls, sparks of the Divine to surprise and enliven our spirits.

I closing I am recalling this quote, “When we give of ourselves, nothing is truly lost”. When one candle lights another, its light is not diminished. The light given off together is greater than the light of one.” Unknown

(Quote is often attributed to different people and there is also reference in sacred text. In many faith traditions light symbolizes God or the energy of Love.)

Liz Sorensen Wessel

The Gift of Peace Day 185

Today many people throughout our country will celebrate and remember July 4^th as the historic Declaration of Independence, in U.S. history, a document that was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, and that announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence included these three major ideas: People have certain Inalienable Rights including Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness. All Men are created equal. Individuals have a civic duty to defend these rights for themselves and others.

It is important that we recognize that although our country was founded on these guiding principles, it was amid the contradictory reality of slavery and oppression. Throughout the generations people have strived to live and embody these principles of our founding forefathers and have worked hard to overcome injustices resulting in significant progress having been made along the way.

Yet, today in our country there is so much discord, violence and erosion of rights that we have taken for granted. Throughout the world there is such turmoil, war, environmental degradation and poverty. People fleeing their homelands to become refugees, often viewed as unwanted strangers in foreign lands. Yet each person has a story and a yearning for a better life for their family, and their children. Would we not seek the same path forward, risking life and death to escape tyranny and oppression?

It is easy to become disheartened and fall into despair. Yet, the human spirit yearns for and seeks an ever-present Light. These dark times have spurred a new awakening, of people coming together in unity to create a world of abundance not scarcity. There are so many good people doing good things to make our world a better, more peaceful place.

These words, are the gift that comes to me today, a gift that is meant to be shared with one another.  

“Peace, I leave with you; My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27

Peace be with you, this is my prayer for you on this Independence Day.

Liz Sorensen Wessel
Above drawing ~liz
Christ Healing -unknown artist

Healing & Hope

Today, I offer a simple prayer. 

To the God of our own understanding, the spirit with whom we commune this morning – we ask that our minds be open, our hearts welcoming, our arms embracing.

We lift up those whose lives are touched by sadness, by illness, by worry, or by loneliness.

May they find comfort, hope, and healing strength in this community and the larger community.

We celebrate those whose lives are whole and well.

May they share their strength with those in need and find warmth and love in the sharing of their spirit.

And let us take a moment to silently reflect in the spirit of prayer.
                                                                                             ~Chrystal Hogan

Liz Sorensen Wessel
Mandala by Liz